The book lover’s throne that fits 300 books! We interviewed the designers who made it

Bask in the glory of your massive book collection with the ‘Bibliochaise’, a throne that has a built-in bookshelf that can store as much as 300 books. It’s the throne every book worm has always dreamed of. In this exclusive interview, the creators of the ‘Bibliochaise’, Nobody&Co, talk about the inspiration behind it and how it has become a coveted item for book lovers. [read our original post about it here.]

What was the inspiration behind ‘Bibliochaise’? What made you decide to combine a chair and a book shelf into one item?
The sheer love of reading combined with a perpetual need of more book space. And the desire to celebrate an object—the book—in its time of peril. When we designed it in ’96, it seemed as if all books were about to suddenly disappear, leaving the void to digital format.

La Bibliochaise was an idea without frills, a kind of ‘missing link’, something that made you think: ‘Hey, look! That looks like something that’s always existed! So why have we never seen it before?’ It’s an idea that fits the equation 1+1= -1, whereby adding what you see, you can understand what is missing.

Have you gotten any feedback from book lovers? Any memorable ones?
Sometimes lovely people send us a picture of their Bibliochaise after its arrival in their home, perhaps with their cat sitting on it. It’s a romantic object, a sincere demonstration of love for one’s own books. This is a very personal, intimate level of response. But feedback might be understood at a broader cultural level, when la Bibliochaise is used to illustrate the book’s centrality to society.

For example, every year la Bibliochaise is part of the Writers Festival in Milan, and the Small Wonder Festival at Charleston (home of the Bloomsbury Group). For three years, special coloured Bibliochaises were central to the set on Mariella Flostrup’s The Book Show, where book lovers could win them as prizes. And publishers in Germany often present the Bibliochaise as 1st prize for book awards.

You introduced ‘Bibliochaise’ way back in 2006, but it’s still popular until today. Could you explain to us a bit about how this clever armchair has, so to speak, stood the test of time?
It is a simple idea born from a sincere desire. We believe that that’s what lends it the vitality and garrulousness that enters the heart and stays in the mind of passionate people and book lovers.

It’s intuitive. It makes one feel the warmth of a thought.

What furniture designs are you planning to come up with next?
More furniture companions, things that are made out of what’s missing—but it’s a secret!